Strange new respect for… Celine Dion?

First, she has a 5-octave range. I wish she didn’t waste in on chee$e, just as I wish the same of her fellow Canadian, Burton Cummings.

Second: If I was a homely but talented teenager and some old rich guy came along and was the first man who ever told me I was beautiful and vowed to devote his life to making my dreams come true and helping me live the life of a princess, of course I would marry him.

(Although I like to think my ceremony would be more… tasteful.)

The difference between me and all the jealous haters is that I admit that without reservation.

Q: Lucien Bouchard once called you Quebec’s greatest ambassador. With that in mind, Amnesty International just declared Quebec’s controversial charter of values as a limit on fundamental rights that further stigmatizes vulnerable women. Do you agree with Amnesty?

A: It’s a very delicate question to answer because I’ll hurt some people and please others but you have to have an opinion. For me, it’s not about the veil—it’s beyond that. I’m not against what people wear but if you go to the hospital, and you are in Quebec and we have embraced you and opened our country for you to live in a better world, you have to adapt to our rules. If the doctor is a boy or a girl, you’re gonna see the doctor that [is] sent to [treat] you. You can’t just say, “My religion doesn’t permit me to see a woman or a male doctor.” That’s the problem for me. If I’m going to see a doctor and he is gay, I’m not going to have a problem with that. It should not be an issue.

Q: Yetyou’ve stood up for women’s causes throughout the years.

A: Of course! It’s just that these women who practise the things they believe in have to adapt to our country. They have to not change our laws. Because you have a lot of Anglican or veiled women in a school—you can’t just take off the [Catholic] cross from the walls, or take down Christmas trees. If I go live in their country and have to be veiled, I will.